Egyptians Criticize Government's Decision to Unify Call to P

 

By Ursula Lindsey

The Egyptian government has announced plans to unify¹ the call to prayer that is broadcast from thousands of different loudspeakers in the country's capital. The idea has been criticized by some as governmental interference in religion.
The minister of Religious Endowments, Mahmoud Hamdi Zaqzouq, announced the plans to synchronize² the call to prayer using a wireless³ network. The minister said every day he receives complaints about the excessive noise from loud speakers.
The call to prayer, a Muslim tradition dating back to the seventh century, is broadcast five times a day through loudspeakers from the minarets⁴ of Cairo's 4,000 or so mosques⁶.
Ingy Ghannam, the news editor of the popular Islam Online site, says the measure to synchronize the calls will diminish the importance of imams, who lead the prayers at mosques, and of muezzin, who make the call to prayer.
"This will totally diminish the role of the imam, or the muezzin of the mosque⁵. It won't be his decision. It won't be his voice. It's going to be a higher authority," she said.
The government-appointed Grand Mufti, Ali Gomaa, issued a statement on Saturday saying it was religiously legitimate⁷ to unify the call. But opposition⁸ papers and people writing on Islamic Web sites criticized the initiative as un-Islamic, and suggested that the government had plans to ban the dawn prayer, the earliest of the day's five prayers.
Ms. Ghannam says those who are suspicious of the proposal perceive it as driven by what they see as Western pressure to exert more control over Islamic institutions and practices.
"In other Arab countries, like in Tunisia for example, you go to the mosque with an ID [identification]. You have to have an ID to go into a mosque," she said. "I mean, putting restrictions⁹ of mosques, on activities in mosques, this is what people are fearing. That this is only one step ahead of changing the whole religious aspect of Egypt, or controlling people who go to mosques."
Ms. Ghannam said an alternative to the synchronized¹⁰ calls could be having muezzin stop using loudspeakers.
Ursula Lindsey, for VOA News, Cairo.
注释：
loudspeaker扩音器, 喇叭
Religious Endowments 宗教基金会
synchronize同步
minaret 尖塔
diminish 减少
imam [伊斯兰]阿訇, 教长
muezzin报告祷告时刻的人
religiously虔敬地，虔诚地
Tunisia突尼斯(北非国家)

1 unify   

vt.使联合，统一；使相同，使一致

参考例句：

• How can we unify such scattered islands into a nation?我们怎么才能把如此分散的岛屿统一成一个国家呢？
• It is difficult to imagine how the North and South could ever agree on a formula to unify the divided peninsula.很难想象南北双方在统一半岛的方案上究竟怎样才能达成一致。

2 synchronize   

v.使同步 [=synchronise]

参考例句：

• The sound on a film must synchronize with the action. 影片中的声音必须与动作配合一致。
• You must synchronize your Inbox before selecting additional folders. 在选择其他文件夹前，您必须同步您的收件箱。

3 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

4 minarets   

n.（清真寺旁由报告祈祷时刻的人使用的）光塔( minaret的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Remind you of a mosque, red baked bricks, the minarets. 红砖和尖塔都会使你联想到伊斯兰教的礼拜寺。 来自互联网
• These purchases usually went along with embellishments such as minarets. 这些购置通常也伴随着注入尖塔等的装饰。 来自互联网

5 mosque   

n.清真寺

参考例句：

• The mosque is a activity site and culture center of Muslim religion.清真寺为穆斯林宗教活动场所和文化中心。
• Some years ago the clock in the tower of the mosque got out of order.几年前，清真寺钟楼里的大钟失灵了。

6 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

7 legitimate   

adj.合法的，合理的，合乎逻辑的；v.使合法

参考例句：

• Sickness is a legitimate reason for asking for leave.生病是请假的一个正当的理由。
• That's a perfectly legitimate fear.怀有这种恐惧完全在情理之中。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

10 synchronized   

同步的

参考例句：

• Do not use the synchronized keyword in Managed Objects. 不要在管理对象上使用synchronized关键字。 来自互联网
• The timing of the gun was precisely synchronized with the turning of the plane's propeller. 风门的调速与飞机螺旋桨的转动精确同步。 来自辞典例句